Communication and Media Studies

Getting Started

Reference sources like encyclopedias can help you as you begin a research assignment by providing background on your topic. They contain articles that are short syntheses of widely accepted scholarship and facts. Scholarly encyclopedias are more trustworthy than most free websites, and provide additional depth because they focus on specific themes, types of media, and regions. Some are now available online through the library, such as:

A Dictionary of Media and Communication - information on a variety of media and communication related topics.

Oxford Companion to the Photograph - covers photography as a social as well as artistic subject of study.

A Dictionary of Marketing - 2600 entries on marketing techniques and theories.

Many more reference sources are available in print in the Grace and Fowler Libraries. Call numbers that start with "FOWLER" designate books in Fowler (others are in Grace). REF means that a book is in the reference collection (for use in the library only):

• Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media - REF 302.2303 D75s
• International Encyclopedia of Propaganda - REF 303.37508 In8
• Handbook of the Media in Asia - REF 302.23095 G95h
• Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition - REF  808.003 En6e
  
• Handbook of Interpersonal Communication - FOWLER REF 302.2 K72h
  
• SAGE Handbook of Gender and Communication - FOWLER REF 305.3014 D75s

Research Databases

Start your search for scholarly articles in these databases:

EBSCO - select "Communications/Media Databases" to search Communications and Mass Media Complete, a database with full text of articles from almost 500 communications journals.

If your topic is interdisciplinary, consider also searching JSTOR or the "General/News Databases" option in EBSCO. In EBSCO, this will result in a mix of scholarly and popular sources.

Find news articles here:

LexisNexis - provides newspaper articles and broadcast transcripts. Make sure you're on the "International News" tab, and then select an option under "select sources."

EBSCO - the "General/News Databases" search option includes news articles. Limit to "news" under source type.

For media-related industry and company information:

Media Industry - information in the MarketLine database. Many industry and company subcategories.

Books in the Franklin College Libraries

To locate communication and media studies books, use the Franklin College catalog. Start with an "Anywhere" (keyword) search on your topic, or a Title or Author search if you are looking for a specific book. Books on similar subjects are shelved together, so you can find one title in the catalog and then browse the shelves for more books. Books in the General Collection can be checked out at the Circulation Desk.

Reserve Collection: Many books have been placed on reserve by professors. To determine whether a book has been placed on reserve, check the catalog (which will say "reserve" along with a professor's name). Reserve books can be used in the library for a limited amount of time.

Professional Associations and Publications:

Professional associations connect scholars, students, and practitioners in the fields of communication and media. Your professor may have mentioned one of these associations:

National Communication Association - US-based association of communication scholars, teachers, and practitioners.

International Communication Association - international academic association for scholars of human and mediated communication.

Practitioners of various professions--including communications and media--use trade publications to stay current on new trends in their fields. Sometimes these are published by professional associations. While not peer-reviewed like academic journals, they are aimed at readers familiar with the study of a particular field. Therefore, an article in a communications-related trade publication will be more detailed than a popular news article, but shorter and less scholarly than a peer-reviewed journal article. To find articles in communications-related trade publications, select "trade publication" under "publication type" in EBSCO databases.

Communications and Media Studies Websites

Journalism.org - Pew Research Center's Project for Excellent in Journalism.
Nielsen Media - source of statistics about media, among other things.
Columbia Journalism Review - blogs, resources, and multimedia in addition to online CJR articles.
Swiss newspapers online - list of links; some might require a subscription or registration.
TED: Media - TED talks tagged with "Media."